The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1887-04-01
A COUNTRY HOTEL.
PHASES OF LIFE IN A WEST
ERN RURAL HoSTELRY.
Arrival of the City Cuests-The
Waitrcsscs-Killing Time Az
ter Supper-Cold Beds
An Early Call.

1870 - @@aAs
Have you ever stopped at a country
hoteli Ii You have you hay. stopped Al
all OF them, as they arc all cut from the
same piece. During the last week a
Tribune man has been invading a mum
Der OF small towns in the interior of 4
Western State, and FIR the benefit of
those whl have never been guests at a
rural hostelry he will endeaYor 10 give
a description OF one. The train pulls Uni
IN front of a low, rambling wooden
structure two stories high, and the ears
OF the passengers are assailed BY the
wild clangor Of bell in the hands OF Z
youth Of Is. II it is the passengers
destination he alights and walks toward
the hotel o Ice. There is no obsequious
colored boy to sci his grips and he
must carry his own baggage 10 the desk
Then he registers. The register Of a
country hotel is something of a curiosity.
At the top of the page appears the handi.
work OF the night clerk in the shape Of
the day and date, artistieally done in
ink of the two co!ors which mark reu-
lette wheel. After the guest has regis
tered he must tell the clerk whether he
wants room or not. If he does not the
clerk will not look after him until bed
time, and then first come first served.
Naturally after a long ride the
stranger is a triae hungry, - ~
hunger IS not at all appeased BY Ae Pa o.. -
which floats through the opeys ae Y,
the dining It's the sane GA
odor, too, never striking for shorter
hours. and pursuing its kaleidoscope
way like the poetic brook. The guest
takes a seat wherever he can get II, and
naturally looks about. Yes, there
all the old familiar friends. Apparently
no one has used the catsup since the
stranger was there Lefore, and still in
its place is the property mustard-pot,
with its bluff in the shape of an inside
coating OF yellow ochre The napkins
have possibly shrunk tile, but they
still shed lint upon the clothing with the
same old time prodiga,ity. There is the
revolving caster, too, with its plats
little worn of. but still in the ring; and
the pre-Adamito mixed pickles, with the
little red Pepper glaring through the
walls of its prison as it did of yore.
Yes. the old friends arc all present and
one begins to feel at home.
As this feeling steals over one he is
conscious Of the presence of being be-
hind his chair. She-it is always She
shoTes a glass of water past his shoul-
der, and from between h,r ruby lips
there comes the mystic query: "Bif-
steK. porkstek, amuneggs, sassidge, col
notes What n memory, But it is m
old, old story to her. She wishes she
had dollar fer every time she has re-
peated it. If one hesitates he is lost, as
she will walk away, so one orders that
portion of her rapid narrative which has
found Judgment in his memory, and she
sails away kitchenward. These girls all
look alike and dress alike. Their coun-
tenances proclaim n recent onslaught on
the -four barrel, and their :1cial make
up" is rather startling, as the powder
has appropriated a territory bounded by
the forehead, cl in and ears. In most
instances their hair is cut, and they
a5ect -ewelry enough to entirely depepu-
late l0-cent counter But then they
are real good girls.
The supper has arrived at last and is
continuing TO arrive on the instaliment
plan. The "bifstck1 is crisply done
and is about the dimensions OF a blue
chip The rest comes in little oval dishes
which surround the plate on every hand.
Zach dish contains little dab Of some
thing, which is on the vocal bill of fare,
and as the guest is about to begin the
life and death sfrto,-t---.ith tAa foa.d -
ii...llS.-.l.. .-.;,si IN DTIie ssripes sid ficc1
powder asks -IeeorcoGyl' Une is safe
IN taking either, as both are harmless.
One is then asked If he wants hot cakes.
of coarse he docs. One may think those
are flannel wheat cakes, but they are
not They are just little bit stub
born.
While chiseling the way through the
cakes the proprictor's wife sails in. The
only person on earth who can literally
sail in is the better half of country-ho-
tel proprietor when there is a dining
room full OF guests. Her private table
is away down at the further end of the
room 1t might be more pleasantly To-
Gated, but, bless you, it would not give
the proprietor's wife an opportunity to
sail in.
After supper the guest purchases pa
per. for the train is Just in, and settles |
himself TO the task of killing time in a
country hotel. 1t is a hard Job. The
last train is in and all the excitement
there Is is furnished by the dropping in
Of the village magnates, who plint them
selves around the stove and swap gray |
bearded jests. Purchasing n cigar the |
guest starts u light it. On the counter I
is a lamp with Two lighters, one of which !
is stepped in alcohol. OF course the 4
stranger strikes the wrong one first and |
would continue to do so il he lit cigars
there twenty years. After having
little he is sorry there was any
alcohol at all
Sooner or later, and generally sooner,
the guest expresses desire to the night
clerk to retire. lie goes to a closet and
ignites hand-lamp, takes the guests
grip, and pilots the way up stairs. If
one carried thermometer he could see
the mercury descend lower the farther
be got away from the office stove. Reach
Dg the room the guest is asked If he
wants call il tho morning. No, GER
.ainly not. While undressing ones
thoughts revert to Lieutenant Greedy aud
lis Inflated expedition. A long breath
md then the guest crawls between the
sheets. Just as the guest is beginning
% feel comfortable there is a rap at the
ioor OF the room opposite and he sleepily
hears the night clerk inform its occupant
hat it is 80. One wishes the night
;lerk might have been more confidential
bout it. Every half hour, though, he
;cmes up and thunders at some ones
ioar to tell the hour Finally the carly
rain pulls in and the boy begins to work
lis bell, and the guest arises and jumps
INTO his clothes, giving up in disgust
N honest attempt to sleep. The chest
mt about the ''bifstek," ETC., is rctold,
nd when the next train pulls in the
tranger boards it, only TO be set down
It the next town 20 gothrough similar
- Chicago Tribune.
Valuable Gold Nuggets. II
Louis Banding says the generally &C
opted statement that the largest nugget
yer found in California was worth a